KitchenAid KFIS29PBMS 29 Cu. Ft. French Door Stainless Steel Review

Front

The stainless steel exterior looks very elegant. Its French door layout means there are two doors that open on to the fridge interior set above a pull-out drawer which accesses the freezer. The left fridge door has a through-the-door ice and water dispenser set below an external control panel.

For every stainless steel appliance that hits the market, there are at least 100 fingerprints lying in wait to strike...and smudge...and smear. The KitchenAid is no exception: if you've got small children, or a job that leaves you with particularly greasy hands at the end of the day, prepare to spend a lot time wiping this fellow down.

The external control panel does a nice job blending in with the stainless finish, but it's still easy to read and use. When the fridge is left alone, the control screen remains blank, but the images on it light up as soon as you touch one of its buttons. In an unusual design twist, the indicator symbols here are lit using straight white light, not blue or red or any other typically used color.

The handles are curved and very smooth. Easy to grip and quite sturdy, they serve their purpose without making any huge changes to a traditional design.

The through-the-door dispenser grants you access to filtered water, as well as both crushed and cubed ice. The moisture of choice is selected using the external control panel, which is located immediately above the dispenser cavity.

The slightly angled cavity is deep enough that you should be able to set your glass down when filling it. The dual paddles produce ice (on the left) or water (on the right). The cavity itself has a small light that can be turned on to make it easier to see when you need a late-night refreshment, as well.

Interior

The inside of the KitchenAid is unremarkable in terms of overall layout. It does have a few interest design elements meant to somewhat optimize both storage space and user interaction, such as the attractive blue LED lighting.

Glass shelves with stainless trim are mounted to the rear of the fridge cavity using hooks. There are four half-width shelves, each of which is adjustable, as well as a full-width shelf below those. Underneath that are two vegetable drawers equipped with Auto Humidity Control (more on that later). The fridge also comes with a detachable beverage rack that can be clipped to the underside of one of the main shelves.

At the very bottom of the fridge is a full-width drawer that comes with an independently adjustable temperature control. It has its own interior light, as well as a removable plastic bin that be used to separate different items or to prevent them from rolling around.

While you can manually adjust the temperature using the plus and minus buttons (it ranges from 32 degrees Fahrenheit up to 41), this drawer's control panel comes equipped with four programmed settings. At the touch of a button, you can adjust it to 32 degrees for fresh meat, 36 degrees for the "party" setting (presumably for storing something like hors d'oeuvres), 39 degrees for deli storage, or 41 degrees for bottles of wine.

The water filter is stored at the top of the fridge interior in a recessed compartment located in the ceiling. It takes up very little space, and it's quite easy to replace despite being hidden away.

The left fridge door houses the KitchenAid's ice bin. Below the ice maker are two small shelves that offer some additional fridge storage.

The right door offers more traditional storage options, with three adjustable shelves and a smaller fourth one at the bottom. The adjustable shelves are completely self-contained: the plastic bucket can slide up and out of the metal frame.

There are essentially four sections in the KitchenAid's freezer. At the very front of the freezer, just inside the door, is a thin compartment labeled the In-Door Pizza Storage. It's as wide as the freezer, and is designed to fit two or three full-sized frozen pizzas when placed upright on their sides.

Two pull-out drawers sit at the top of the compartment; they're not terribly tall, but are quite wide and deep. The bottom portion of the freezer is divided up into three sections by a slightly adjustable plastic divider; this is where the majority of a household's frozen goods will be kept.

As mentioned above, the ice maker is located entirely on the left fridge door. It has a clear window in the front that allows you to see how full the ice maker is; the panel that this window is built into can be opened like a door, revealing a smaller removable ice bin inside. It's very easy to take out and put back, making the task of providing bulk ice an effortless chore.

Back

With only the power cord and a single water hose on the back of the product, there's very little to be seen on the KitchenAid's rear.

Sides

The sides of the product are finished with a typical grey matte exterior. This complements the stainless front quite well, and gives the product a cohesive, uniform appearance.